Council: Pledge yes, war no

Stefan Verbano

Tuesday

Jun 28, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Echoes of patriotism resounded at the Eugene City Council on Monday as councilors hotly debated and passed resolutions calling for the domestic redirection of federal “war funds” — and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance before four council meetings each year.

After a lengthy debate on how the city should spend any money it might receive as a result of a redistribution of federal funds, the council voted 7-1 to endorse a resolution “expressing the City Council’s desire that funds to continue the Iraq and Afghanistan wars be directed to domestic priorities, including the pressing needs in the city of Eugene.”

Voting against the motion was Councilor Pat Farr, who said that even if war dollars were redirected to domestic spending, more pressing national funding priorities would most likely eclipse the city’s needs.

“Whoever speaks the loudest gets the most when it becomes available. It’s a little bit of a dream,” Farr said, referring to the prospect that the city would retain control over tax money otherwise afforded to the Pentagon.

A similar anti-war resolution received overwhelming support at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Baltimore last week, for which Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy — though not present — was lead sponsor. Seventeen other mayors signed on as co-sponsors, and the resolution was approved by mayors representing more than 1,200 communities nationwide.

Much of Monday’s discussion centered on how the city might prioritize any funds it might receive. Councilor George Poling said the first funding priority should be for police, fire and emergency medical services. Councilor Andrea Ortiz later urged that environmental cleanup and alternative energy programs be considered for funding.

Ultimately, the council opted not to prioritize how it might spent any such funds.

The resolution was championed by members of Citizens Alliance of Lane County, several of whom urged the council to adopt the language during the council’s public comment period.

Poling suggested at one point that the council was more united than divided over the issue: “We are unanimous in wanting to end both wars and bringing the troops home as soon as possible,” he said.

Earlier, councilors returned to an ongoing debate over whether future meetings should commence with the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance.

In a revised compromise, the council agreed to recite the pledge at four meetings a year closest to the patriotic holidays of Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and the Fourth of July. The council also agreed that excerpts from the U.S. Constitution or Declaration of Independence could be read aloud at the council meeting nearest the Fourth of July holiday.

The first opportunity to recite the pledge will come at the council’s July 11 meeting.

An earlier proposal to also recite the pledge at the annual State of the City address will now be left to the discretion of the mayor.

The issue surfaced several weeks ago when Councilor Mike Clark suggested that the pledge be recited at the start of bimonthly council meetings. But Clark agreed to a compromise put forth by Councilor Alan Zelenka when it seemed clear that a council majority was not prepared to endorse reciting the pledge on a regular basis.

Monday’s vote on the pledge was 6-2, with Councilors George Brown and Betty Taylor in dissent.

Clark said part of his motivation was to respond to constituents who often cite the fact that some Eugene traditions — namely, the eccentric Eugene Celebration in late summer — do not sit well with some residents but are nonetheless tolerated by them.

And, with the resistance to the idea of a public body reciting the pledge, Clark said he feels they are not being given the same liberty.

“Something they value in that way is met with hostility,” Clark said. “Tolerating those differences is an important part of the community that we live in. It has become an issue of tolerance to a certain degree.”

But Brown disagreed.

“This whole notion that we need something for the ‘not-weird’ seems very weird to me,” he said.

The Pledge of Allegiance discussion prompted a Fox News crew from Seattle to come listen in.

The council also approved new appropriations to its supplemental budget for the coming fiscal year, part of which now includes $317,000 to maintain a fire engine crew at Eugene’s Whiteaker fire station. The proposal for funding was made by Clark, who said there is “widespread community support” for the station.

In a money-saving effort, fire department managers had proposed replacing one of the station’s two engine crews with an ambulance crew. That was met with opposition from some Whiteaker residents and members of the International Association of Firefighters Local 851, who worried that the reduction would increase emergency response time.

The $317,000 is a one-time appropriation from greater-than-expected payments the city receives from the Eugene Water & Electric Board.

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